page_title: Ninco Nanco
section_title: Brigandage
hierarchical_section_title: Ninco Nanco / Biography / Brigandage
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Mandato di cattura dei briganti Carmine Crocco, Ninco Nanco e Angelantonio Masini English: Arrest warrant of the brigands Carmine Crocco, Ninco Nanco and Angelantonio Masini
context_page_description: Giuseppe Nicola Summa, known as Ninco Nanco, was an Italian brigand. One of the most important brigands after the Italian unification, he was a lieutenant of Carmine Crocco, band chief of the Vulture area, in Basilicata. He was known for his brilliant guerrilla warfare and for his brutality against his enemies.
context_section_description: On January 7, 1861, he met Carmine Crocco, becoming one of his best subordinates. Ninco Nanco participated in the conquest of the entire Vulture zone, pushing forward to the province of Matera, Irpinia and Capitanata. He had his own band of 50 men, remaining disposable to Crocco's orders in case of a big conflict against the royal troops. His principal targets were rich landowners, resorting to kidnapping, homicide and properties devastation for ransom to finance his band activities.
  Ninco Nanco became soon known for his cold-blooded and ferine acts.  The most known episode of his brigand life happened In January 1863, when he killed in the wood of Castel Lagopesole Costantino Pulusella, director of Public Safety of Avigliano, the captain Luigi Capoduro and some of his troops who tried to lead him to surrender. The corpses were discovered days later: Pulusella was found with his hands cut off; Capoduro was beheaded, his head was found on a rock with a stone between his teeth and on his body a cross of Savoy was engraved.
  According to the accounts of the time, Ninco Nanco often tore the heart from the chest of captured soldiers. The memory of these actions was still alive among the inhabitants of Basilicata in 1935, when Carlo Levi exiled to Aliano during the fascist regime. The writer met people who claimed to be witnesses of those deeds and reported the anecdotes in his memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli. However, Crocco denied tortures by Ninco Nanco at the expense of military prisoners, stating that he was fierce only for his self-defense.
  Beside his cruelty, the brigand made also generous acts. He helped his sisters economically, who lived in miserable conditions and, being deeply religious, he donated money to the priests to celebrate masses in honour of the Lady of Mount Carmel, whose effigy he carried always on his neck. During the siege of Salandra, he spared the life of a priest who had helped his family in the past, ensuring him his protection. Ninco Nanco deposited valuable items in the chapel of Monte Carmine, which were seized and sold in 1863, by order of the antibrigandage committee. The proceeds were used for the renovation of the building. Once, he ordered to one of his men to stop using death threats to extract money from poor people, as they could not support the bands.
caption: Wanted poster of Carmine Crocco, Ninco Nanco and Angelantonio Masini
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